How come no Zelda quality NES homebrews?

[Tursi]

I get it...almost...the Jaguar seems to be an exception to this rule. The Jaguar has some pretty solid homebrew games, and it is definetily more of an advanced system (and less popular) than the NES. So answer me this. Is the Jag easier to program than the NES or are those Jag programmers just crazy?

Can't answer that one for you, CC.

 

(Cue for someone from the Jag programming scene to step in...)

 

Jag programmers are definately crazy. The Jag at the low hardware level is harder to program than the NES, but there are some nice libraries available now that make it easier. Since the hardware is more powerful than the NES, you can produce less-tuned code and still get a very good result.

 

Even so, the Jag doesn't have any homebrews with the scope and scale of SMB or Zelda, either.

 

I haven't done the NES yet, though I have a basic understanding of the hardware. I'd definately like to spend some time on it.

[high voltage]

Or maybe just nobody wants to do NES homebrews.

[vdub_bobby]

I'm just throwing this out there, but some of it may just be a timeline issue - what I mean is:

Programmers that grew up playing the 2600 as kids earned their programming stripes on the C64 or Apple][ and that era of personal computers, where you had to program in assembly to do anything really cool, and even if you never did any real assembly programming as a kid, even in BASIC with PEEKS/POKES you are still very close to the metal.

 

Contrast that to programmers who played NES as kids; they learned programming in the early 90s on 80x86 PCs; moving from BASIC to C++ or something similar. So to go back and write a NES game is a much bigger jump for them, programming in C++ or some other high-level language is almost a completely different skill than programming in assembly.

 

So you get things like the guy who was/is working on Grand Theftendo, who wrote a sort-of C compiler or something. That's a pretty high bar to get over, if before you even start the 200-hour project you first have to spend 50-100 hours writing a compiler...

 

But, on the other hand...2600 programming didn't really take off until about 2000, 23 years after the 2600 was first released. So maybe the NES homebrew explosion is just around the corner.

Edited May 25, 2010 by vdub_bobby

[malducci]

Contrast that to programmers who played NES as kids; they learned programming in the early 90s on 80x86 PCs; moving from BASIC to C++ or something similar. So to go back and write a NES game is a much bigger jump for them, programming in C++ or some other high-level language is almost a completely different skill than programming in assembly.

 

I dunno. There are plenty of coders that program in assembly language for the NES. Their background is irrelevant as how they came to obtain their knowledge, and for whether they're motivated to create a project on a much larger scope/scale. I have lots of experience with coding on old consoles, with public and private demos, RE'ing systems, exploiting hardware and such, emulating stuff - for a few years now. And I have yet to make a "game". I want to and have even planned/started projects - but it's a lot of work for one person (even two). Sometimes it has to do with finding free time, other times it has to do with keeping the motivation (or it turns into "work" and you rather be doing something else. Just like anything else in life). I'm sure quite a bit of knowledgeable and experienced coders for these old consoles have been in the same or similar positions, preventing them from finishing a product for said system.

[Classic Pac]

How about different takes on Zelda for your PC http://www.zeldaclassic.com/

[Chris Leach]

I see a whole bunch of hoopla in here..this guy asked for Zelda style games...>! What about Zelda: Outlands?

 

Is someone gonna say this was not a homebrew?

 

Check it out here >>>>> Outlands!

[DickNixonArisen]

I see a whole bunch of hoopla in here..this guy asked for Zelda style games...>! What about Zelda: Outlands?

 

Is someone gonna say this was not a homebrew?

 

Check it out here >>>>> Outlands!

Well, yeah. It's an elaborate hack. Even here on Atariage in the store hacks and homebrews are separated, although the more elaborate ones (like the great return to castle wolfenstein) are sort of in-between